29/03/2022
NZ'S NEW CLEAN CAR PROGRAM
Four days out from the implementaion of what is probably the biggest legislation change to ever hit the NZ motor industry & the industry collectively has very little as to what's happening exactly come Friday. 1 April.....Mmmmm.
It's a shameful implementation.
1) What will it cost next week to register a new Ford Ranger or a used (new import) Mitsubishi Outlander???
I doubt anyone knows for sure. The goverments 'Right Car' just says what the amount will 'probably' be.
2) How much rebate will I get if I purchase a new Hyundai IONIQ5 EV next week???
Cant say for sure but there may be no rebate at all !
3) If you are an big importer or a manufacturer how will the 'Clean Car Standard' balancing act actually work for you in reality??? Will NZTA review your years imports & if, on balance, you imported more 'bad' cars than 'good' will you be fined???
Nobody knows. There are no published details.
What I can say for lovers of newly imported American muscle & classics is that come Friday anything newer than 40 years old will cost an extra $2,875 at time of first registration. There is a small exemption that will cut some cars free, but very few. Classics older than 1982 will be free of new taxes (but be frowned on behind the scenes no doubt).
The AA says that the new Clean Car Program will result in our NZ fleet ageing, and as such will become less efficient & less safe. Oh dear. That sounds like a fail.
Maybe the Clean Car Program should be an initiative to get everyone to clean & polish their old cars, keep driving them & replacing their daily drivers as they currently do? Taxing the hell out of sub-20k cars that 80% of our population buy is a tough gig.
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
Continuing to use something old (that may use more fuel) is environmentally better than buying something new. Oh, that's right, they don't consider the resources used to build a new car.
Rant over.
